A Saleswoman Helps Customers Get With The Program In The Electronic Age

`Kids Often Teach Their Parents How To Use The Computer`

January 12, 1986|By Norma Libman.

When Georgeann Duberstein started in computer sales, someone had to show her the on-off switch. Today, after on-the-job training, data-processing courses and several years` experience, she`s not only a top-notch saleswoman who has demonstrated computers at office equipment shows and on cable TV, but she also can design systems for clients.

A former teacher, Duberstein also ran a remedial reading center in Australia, where she lived for 3 1/2 years. Upon returning to the United States, in 1974, Duberstein began selling insurance, then training films for a film distributor. In 1981, she told Chicago writer Norma Libman, she decided that the hottest field in sales was computers. So she took the plunge.

Married and the mother of a daughter, 20, and a son, 18, she lives in Des Plaines and works at Businessland Computers in Rolling Meadows. She`s currently without a home computer herself. Her son took the family`s computer to college last fall, and though she plans to get another one, she`s still trying to decide--``just like my customers``--whether to get a current model or wait for the next advance.

My most important selling tool is my age. I`m 46 years old. Nobody can say to me, ``I`m too old to learn this,`` or, ``I can`t compete with the kids who have studied computers in school.`` If I can learn it, so can you. Also, computer sales is still an overwhelmingly male world. So I use both my age and the fact that I am a woman as a calming technique with people who want to get into computers but are scared to death of them.

A wide range of people are buying personal computers. Many parents buy them because their children are using them in school or just because they realize that computers are going to become a part of their children`s lives eventually. People are also getting computers to handle household finances, keep track of investments, run small businesses or do their income taxes. Truthfully, at this stage, people are still looking for reasons to justify a computer. It can do a lot for you, but much of that can also be done with a paper and pencil. But now that there`s more computerization of banking, shopping and travel reservations, it has really become something that has value for a broader base of the population.

I`ve never had anyone buy a computer and come back and say they hate it. It may take months of looking, but once they`re ready, they`re ready. What I have found, over and over, is that people come in with very specific ideas of what they want the computer to do, and within a few months, they`re expanding its use and finding more functions it can perform for them.

When you go shopping for a computer, you first have to determine what your primary purpose is. If you`re buying it for the children, you`ll probably want to get the kind they use in school. That computer would still have programs available for all your personal uses. If your primary purpose is to bring work home from the office, then get a computer that`s compatible with the one at the office. You can take your disk to work in the morning and continue what you`re doing.

We see prices dropping a lot. Computers that sold for $3,000 when I started are now not quite half of that. You can find personal computers for $200 on up. If you just want to fool around and you understand the

limitations, it`s fine to get one that`s only a couple of hundred dollars. After a certain point, you can trash it and go on to something else. The main thing to remember is that you get what you pay for. You can`t get the cheapest price and still expect to get service and support, too. Imagine if you went to buy a car and the car dealer also had to teach you how to drive. That would definitely change the way you did your shopping.

But what to buy is not nearly as big a problem as how to buy. How does the customer know he`s dealing with a competent salesperson? If you have a friend who bought a computer and was satisfied, take his recommendation. Or if your company uses computers, you might want to investigate its supplier. If it`s good enough for the corporation, it should be good enough for you.

You should also walk into a few stores and get a feel for the atmosphere. Do they speak English or computerese? Do they ask what your needs are, or do they just make assumptions and try to push something on you? In my case, I try to establish an ongoing relationship with customers because I feel they`re not going to be making a one-time purchase. The saying is that you`re going to spend as much money, in the long run, on software as you do on the hardware. That means the customer is going to be coming in over the years to buy additional programs.

A lot of people ask me how they can keep from getting burned by a company that`s going out of business. There`s no question that right now there`s a shake-up in the computer industry and that it will continue for a while. The safest thing is to stick with major companies that have been around for a while.